TIMELINE

Alania Emerges

Georgia's recorded history dates back more than 2,500 years. The Ossetians descend from the Alans, an Iranian tribe that is a branch of Sarmatians.

600-150 BC. The Kingdom of Colchis, the Kingdom of Iberia, and Persian-held Iberian territory in the Caucasus region cover the territory that is now Georgia. MAP

66 BC. The two ancient Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia region are conquered by the Romans and remain Roman "client states" for about 400 years.

100-200 AD. The Alan tribe migrates from Central Asia and settles in southern European Russia between the Don River and the Volga River.

337. King Mirian III of Iberia declares Christianity to be the state religion and the first Christian king of Iberia

350. The Huns, a nomadic people, invade from the east and destroy the Alan Kingdom. The Alan people scatter. One group of Alans heads southward to the northern Caucasus mountain region.

501-600. The displaced Alans settle in the area of present-day North Ossetia, Russia. MAP

700s. A consolidated 'Alania' Kingdom emerges in the northern Caucasus Mountains, roughly in the location of modern North Ossetia, Russia.

900s. Most Ossetians become Christian under Byzantine influence.

975-1014. Bagrat III, who is both the King of Abkhazia and the King of Georgia, unifies the two Georgian principalities into the Kingdom of Georgia. MAP of Alania borders (compared to today's borders of South Ossetia and North Ossetia)

1124 MAP of Alania and Georgia

1189. Decades of cooperation between the Alans and Georgians culminate in the marriage of Prince David Solsan of Alania and Queen Tumar of Georgia.

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Ossete (Alan) Migration to the Caucasus

Destruction of Alania; Flight into Georgia (1236-1700)

Georgia and Ossetia under Russian Rule (1774-1917)

Uprising, Then Soviet Repression (1917-1987)